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Smallholder farmers in the semi-arid regions of eastern and southern Africa have to depend on erratic, unreliable and low rainfall for their livelihoods. Subsistence staple food crops are generally grown under rainfed conditions. Consequently there is a growing interest in complementing this risky rainfed food production with cultivation of high-value vegetable crops and fruits. But in most cases this means these small-scale vegetable gardens and orchards must be irrigated in order to assure an economic return. Drip irrigation methods minimize the non-productive water losses associated with conventional irrigation, e.g. from evaporation and soil runoff, and thus can make more efficient use of the already minimal water supplies in these arid areas. But until recently drip irrigation technology had been associated with costly investments available only to large commercial farmers. Now there is growing interest in the technique and many efforts are being made around the world to develop low-cost, simple, drip irrigation systems suitable for smallholder farmers. This handbook presents some of these drip irrigation options that can be promoted by extension officers in eastern and southern Africa. It describes the most interesting small-scale low-cost drip irrigation methods of which the author and the other contributors have practical experience. It also gives a brief overview of methods that have been used successfully in other parts of the world with details of how to obtain further information about them or order equipment. (source)

Serie:
RELMA Technical Handbook Series No. 24 (all items in this serie)

Categories:
Irrigation, agriculture and land husbandry

A fieldguide to improve land resources. A guide with tips and tricks on land rehabilitation. (source)

Serie:
RELMA Technical Pamphlet No. 2 (all items in this serie)

Categories:
Irrigation, agriculture and land husbandry

Farmers’ Initiatives in Land Husbandry’ lays out case studies of 18 of the most interesting technical systems uncovered during three years of working with farmer innovators in East Africa. (source)

Serie:
RELMA Technical Handbook Series No. 27 (all items in this serie)

Categories:
Irrigation, agriculture and land husbandry
Socio-economic and organisation

Rainwater harvesting is one solution to the problems of water shortage in the drier areas of Africa, but its implementation presents a number of challenges, of which storage is the main one. Many people in rural areas who would like to harvest rainwater lack the resources to do so. Conventional stone, brick or ferrocement tanks are costly, and therefore there is a great need for cheaper alternatives. This publication gives an account of two trials conducted in 1998/99 to investigate some such alternatives. In Ethiopia, five different methods of tank construction were tested in the suburbs of Nazareth town in Adama Woreda. In Kenya, six different methods were tested during the same period at various locations in Machakos and Makueni Districts. A main feature of the alternative tank designs is that they are built underground, which reduces the need for reinforcement materials. (source)

Serie:
RELMA Technical Handbook Series No. 28 (all items in this serie)

Categories:
Technology and techniques
Rainwater harvesting
Roofwater harvesting

A planning handbook that provides planners with practical tips on how rainwater harvesting can form an integrated part of district development efforts. The book also gives practical guidelines in the planning steps required to incorporate rainwater harvesting in development plans, and shows how to implement them in the farmers’ context. (source)

Serie:
RELMA Technical Handbook Series No. 22 (all items in this serie)

Categories:
Technology and techniques
Rainwater harvesting
Roofwater harvesting
Infiltration and artificial recharge

A book which describes an approach for improving the conservation of land for production. The book relates the experience of a project in South-West Uganda to build on local practices of soil and water conservation. (source)

Serie:
RELMA Technical Handbook Series No. 20 (all items in this serie)

Categories:
Irrigation, agriculture and land husbandry
Socio-economic and organisation

This is an extension manual for the Ugandan Land Management Programme and the Swedish Regional Land Management Unit (RELMA). It gives simple guidelines for extension personnel in how to implement participatory, bottom-up approaches in agricultural extension and rural development. (source)

Serie:
RELMA Technical Handbook Series No. 25 (all items in this serie)

Categories:
Socio-economic and organisation

Sand rivers, also called dry riverbeds, transport rainwater run-off from highlands to the sea through the most dry parts of this planet where water is very scarce. Although flood water may be drawn from the sand in some riverbeds for a short period of time after floods, the big majority of sand rivers are dry throughout the years. This book explains in simple terms how dry riverbeds can be changed into water sources for long periods after floods - and in some cases throughout the years. The usual problems of contamination and evaporation in hot climates are almost eliminated due the water being trapped and stored underground between the sand particles of riverbeds. This book is based on the author’s practical experience on developing affordable water supply systems in some of the driest parts of Africa and Asia over the last 25 years. (source)

Serie:
RELMA Technical Handbook Series No. 23 (all items in this serie)

Categories:
Rainwater harvesting
Infiltration and artificial recharge